The Ashford Zone Blog

Heather points to this upsetting story:

A couple says their vacation was ruined when an RV park owner told them they weren’t welcome after discovering their 2-year-old foster son had the HIV virus.

Last week, Dick and Silvia Glover went to the Wales West RV Park in Silver Hill, Ala., with their foster son Caleb. When the boy was banned from using the pool and showers, the Glovers said they were offered an uncomfortable and painful choice: They could either keep Caleb out of the water or leave.

"We weren’t sure if somebody could get the virus if the child upchucked on them or from blood or what," said Ken Zadnichek, the park’s owner. "We didn’t know what the risk was. That’s why we asked for something from their doctor or the county health department."

Dick Glover said the request for a doctor’s note made it clear Caleb was unwelcome.

An Alabama newspaper quoted Zadnichek as saying, "I’m not responsible for their feelings. I’m responsible for the well-being of everybody in the park. If their feelings got hurt, I’m sorry. That’s the way it’s got to be."

Upset and dismayed, the couple left with their son.

If you follow click through the link, you read some very supportive comments to the above story.  Things like:

This a prime example of the lack of HIV infection education among our own nation. It’s obvious we need to educate our own Americans in our country before we go out and spend millions on other countries AIDS situations. I do applaud those that have donated money to the third world countries, but this is an outlash as to how uneducated some of our own people are on the do’s and don’ts when HIV prevention and caution is needed.

and

First of all, the HIV virus is only spread by blood or sexual contact. The boy should have been allowed to swim in the pool and I think it is wrong that the family was asked to leave. If I were that family, I would be filing a lawsuit.

and

I just want to stress……
You do not get HIV from:

donating blood.
mosquito bites or bites from other bugs.
sneezes or coughs.
touching, hugging or dry kissing a person with HIV.
the urine or sweat of an infected person.
public restrooms, saunas, showers or pools.
sharing towels or clothing.
sharing eating utensils or drinks.
being friends with a person who has HIV/AIDS.

Sadly, you also read things like:

They should hang the parents, then send the little brat back where he came from. The tax payer should not have to keep them up. The USA should never let people with HIV in this country. Going to other Countrys to get children to adopt, should be stop.

I just hope that people like this last person don’t vote.

But then, it comes as no surprise that there is so much ignorance about medical matters — when you read things like this:

Former Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona told a Congressional committee today that top officials in the Bush administration repeatedly tried to weaken or suppress important public health reports because of political considerations.

Dr. Carmona, who served as surgeon general from 2002 to 2006, said White House officials would not allow him to speak or issue reports about stem cells, emergency contraception, sex education, or prison, mental and global health issues because of political concerns. Top administration officials delayed for years and attempted to “water down” a landmark report on secondhand tobacco smoke, he said in sworn testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.